


No work title yet

by PastaBucket



Category: Final Fantasy
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-26 12:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16681435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastaBucket/pseuds/PastaBucket
Summary: Trying to write something. We'll see how it goes.





	1. Chapter 1

It hurt like hell.  
However, soon enough the pain took shape, and he discovered that it just hurt all over.  
He was apparently lying on some kind of floor - probably stone - and it seemed dark around him.  
He heard the sound of a door slam shut.  
He slowly tried moving his muscles. The pain increased around the joints, but there was no sharp pain.  
This meant no broken bones.  
Soon enough he managed to stagger to his feet.  
The only light seemed to be coming from daylight filtered in from above through little grated windows.  
That was strange: He noticed traces of chalk on the floor.  
Whatever was going on, this place wasn't familiar to him at all.  
He shambled over to the door, but it was locked.  
Was he locked in here?  
No.  
There was an opening into some kind of hall to his right.  
He stumbled over to the railing. The sight that greeted him as he gripped it, was bizarre.  
A stone canal.  
Slime and debris everywhere, lit up by more grated windows, and barely functioning maintenance lights.  
Was this really a sewer?  
What was he doing down here?  
He examined his clothes. His shirt had holes in it.  
Soon he found his wallet. No money. No credit card.  
Some ID, though.  
"Pauro."  
He figured it was a name as good as any.  
Next, he obviously needed to get out of here.  
He slowly climbed over the railing.


	2. Chapter 2

His feet splashed down into the shallow trickle of the empty canal, sending sewage everywhere.  
He wasn't the cleanest person currently, and during his unconscious state his nostrils had probably gotten used to most of the stench down here.  
There were cramps leading up to the ledge at the other end of the canal, and from there, there were probably cramps leading up to the surface somewhere.  
He started traversing the canal, navigating the debris as he went.  
At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.  
...but no, that that patch of slime was clearly moving toward him.  
So that's was why there were no rats here.  
He stretched out his palm, and drew.  
The slime quivered in its death throes as its essence left it,  
and congealed in front of his hand before he collected it.  
At least that much he remembered.  
Maybe where he lived and who he was, would return to him in time.  
There were new aches and he began climbing the cramps, but soon he reached the ledge.  
He turned back to find that he wasn't alone here.  
There was a figure now standing at the railing that he had just stood at, watching him intently.  
"Who are you?!", he shouted.  
The woman didn't reply. She just stepped back into the shadows, leaving him alone.  
He decided that it didn't matter.  
He was getting out of there one way or another.


	3. Chapter 3

New aches tormented him as he shifted the heavy sewer lid over to the side with a loud clattering.  
Looking around him, he found himself in an empty alleyway not much more impressive than the place he'd just left.  
The fresh air entering his nostrils was unfamiliar, and for a moment he struggled to even breathe.  
Emerging from the alley, it didn't take long for him to draw attention.  
He looked like a bum. Maybe he was one.  
The shady people eyeing him from the street corner didn't look much more wholesome. Hopefully the afternoon light would keep them at bay.  
He stood there, trying to figure out how he could turn a name into a street address, when he saw them pointing at him too,  
and so he started to walk in a direction that he hoped would lead to better neighborhoods.  
...but he was mistaken as he found himself at a dead end.  
"Hey!", he heard his pursuers call out behind him. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"  
He turned around.  
"Yeah, I met a guy who was dressed just like you last week." He looked curious, while his two friends looked amused. "Did you steal his clothes or something?"  
"I don't have any money."  
"You know, that's what he said too.", the thug said, unfolding a knife. "...but it turned out he was just lying to me."  
There was no avoiding the confrontation.  
He threw out his hand, and sent the essence straight into the thug's chest.  
He dropped his knife and clenched his heart, before he dropped dead where he stood.  
With one of his friends tending to his corpse, and the other one turning pale and then fleeing, he could pass them unnoticed.  
These streets clearly weren't safe.


	4. Chapter 4

"Could I borrow a phone?", he asked.  
"Sorry. The only phone we've got is for employees only.", they cashier responded.  
"It's an emergency.", he explained.  
"Sure it is, hun.", she replied sarcastically.  
He decided to give up the line of inquiry and just sit down at one of the tables of the diner, to rest his feet.

In the background a TV blared out a speech. "Now more than ever, we need to come together as a people, because only through unity, can we stand against this unrest that is tearing our beloved city apart. I can assure you that these troubles will be sorted shortly, and peace and order restored. In the meantime, if anyone of you see any criminal activity, they need to come forward and report it at the nearest police station. Don't be disheartened. We will persevere."

"Would you listen to that guy?", he overheard one of the guests sneering. "People are being shot in the streets. I was mugged last month, and I went to the police and they told me there was nothing they could do. We're picked off one by one and he's urging us to stay calm and pretend like nothings happening."

"You can join the neighborhood watch groups.", another guest suggested. "There's safety in numbers."

"Who do you think they're shooting at?!", the first guest replied. "That's like asking to have a target painted on you, for both the thugs AND the cops to aim at!"

Paoro silently rose from his seat. He'd seen one of those watch group posters at the entrance.  
...and sure enough, there was an address on it.


	5. Chapter 5

He tried the door handle. Locked.  
The entrance didn't even look inviting. Maybe there just weren't in at the moment.  
His eyes returned to the little girl sitting on the stairs.  
"Hi.", she said. "What's your name?"  
"My name?", he hesitated. "Pauro."  
"My name's Linna.", she smiled.  
"What are you doing here, all by yourself? It's almost dark soon."  
"I'll be fine."  
"I'm not so sure about that.", he argued, seating himself beside her. "Somebody tried to mug me not long ago. It's really not safe out here."  
"What if I told you I ran away?", she said. "...and that I don't really have any other place to go?"  
"Oh." He fell silent. "I wish I could help you, but I don't have any place to go either. I think I've forgotten where I live."  
"Really? How did you forget that?"  
"Well, I wish I remembered.", he shrugged.  
She stood up. "Well, it's going to be dark soon. We should probably go inside."  
She headed for the door and unlocked it, before waving to him to get inside.


	6. Chapter 6

The welcome was shortlived, as a guy wielding a basebat bat greeted them.  
"Who's this?", he asked Linna.  
"Paoro. I found him outside."  
"You can't drag just anyone in here. You know that."  
"He seems like a nice guy.", she protested.  
"Look,", he butted in. "I was just wondering if you had a phone I could borrow. ...or a place to stay."  
"Oh, I think we can arrange a place to stay alright. It's this way.", he said, gesturing with his bat. "After you."  
It wasn't a warm welcome, but he'd take it. It beat sleeping out in the street.

He was lead into a room and locked inside.  
The next moment he was jumped by a naked human figure and toppled under its weight before he managed to fend her off him.  
The long, black hair was so stripy and unkept that it almost covered her face, and she hissed at him like some kind of animal.  
He was ready for her second leap and sent the woman flying across the room.  
As she scrambled, his eyes searched the room for something to subdue her with.  
He met her third leap with outstreched arms and directed her toward the bed, where he wrapped her up in a blanket, and sat on her while she struggled herself exhausted.  
He thought the muggers had been bad, but this bordered on inhuman, with all the faculties of a wild housecat.  
He placed a hand on her sweaty forehand, but quickly withdrew it again.  
This was bad.


	7. Chapter 7

To his surprise, his pounding on the door was answered, and by a familiar face.

"Jarle! What's the meaning of this?!", the old woman shouted to his captor. "You don't put people in with sick people!"

"He was snooping around outside. What was I supposed to do?"

"This is why you're not in charge, Jarle. Go fetch Merv!"

"Don't give me orders, woman! You don't live here!"

Still he did as he was told.

The old woman turned to him, and glanced at the girl wrapped up with the covers. "Interesting choice."

"I know you.", Paoro said. Some movements behind him made him decide to shut the door before the rabid girl could untangle herself.

Before they could continue their conversation, a smaller man entered, followed by Linna.

"Cassandra? Is there a problem?", Merv asked the old woman.

"You're supposed to keep people safe - not shut them in with sick people.", Cassandra sneered. "People could die."

"In my defense we've been rather busy here, and also a little paranoid." Merv cleaned his hands on a dirty rag as he spoke. "There's been a lot of people snooping around here lately, and not the savoury types either. Also, since the arrests, we decided to stop accepting recruits until further notice."

"Well this one's mine. Prep the scanner.", Cassandra ordered him.

Merv gestured to whence he'd come. "Very well."


End file.
